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Rashtrakuta (Amoghavarsha I)
The Rashtrakuta Empire led by Amoghavarsha I is a custom civilization by TopHatPaladin, with contributions from Chrisy15, grant, and danrell. This mod requires Brave New World. Overview History The origins of the Rashtrakuta dynasty are contested; however, by the time they ascended to become the dominant power in southern India, the Rashtrakuta elite were a Kannada-speaking populace. The founder of the Rashtrakuta imperial dynasty was Dantidurga, who initially came to power as a vassal of the Chalukya in 735. For most of his reign, Dantidurga remained a vassal of the Chalukya, but he wrested his independence in a successful battle in 753. In the remaining few years of his life, Dantidurga then led a series of military ventures against neighboring states. This established Karnataka as the heartland of the fledgling Rashtrakuta empire. Throughout the rest of the eighth century, the Rashtrakuta continued to expand, coming to form the "Kannauj Triangle" alongside the Pala and Pratihara empires. The reign of Govinda III (r. 793 - 814) brought the Rashtrakuta to its highest level of military and territorial strength; if his epigraphy is to be believed, he ruled as far north as the Himalayas and as far east as the Ganges. Govinda III was succeeded by Amoghavarsha I (r. 815 - 877), who focused less on conquering and more on consolidating; Amoghavarsha also oversaw an artistic and religious flourishing for the empire. After Amoghavarsha's death, the empire contracted somewhat, settling at its heartland in the western Deccan and Gujarat. Krishna III (r. 939 - 967) was the last great military mind of the Rashtrakuta empire. He reclaimed many of the territories that had been lost in the post-Amoghavarsha years, and granted large fiefdoms to many of his commanders. After his death, however, only a few years elapsed before the Paramara invaded the Rashtrakuta empire and sacked Manyakheta. This led to a collapse in the prestige of the dynasty, and many of Rashtrakuta's tributaries - included the recently landed generals of Krishna III - broke away from the empire. The final Rashtrakuta king, Indra IV, ultimately brought an end to the empire in 982, when he committed sallekhana - the Jain practice of fasting until death. Amoghavarsha I Amoghavarsha Nrupathanga I (r. 815 - 877) was born in 800, during the reign of his father Govinda III. Born as Sharva, he took the name Amoghavarsha when he ascended the throne at the age of 14. During his minority, the empire was ruled by his cousin, Karka Suvarnavarsha; however, beginning in 816, a series of revolts wracked the Rashtrakuta empire. Amoghavarsha managed to subdue the last of these in 821, by which point he assumed sole rulership of the empire. Amoghavarsha participated in some wars, principally against the Eastern Chalukyas or the various southern states, but he generally preferred to maintain peaceable relations with his neighbors. Instead, he largely focused on literature and religion. Amoghavarsha was a Digambara Jain, following the monk Jinasena, but he also patronized works by Hindu and Buddhist artists. Amoghavarsha was also a writer himself - his most prominent piece was the Kavirajamarga ("Royal Path for Poets"), a treatise on poetry and grammar. The earliest known work to be written in Kannada, the Kavirajamarga was composed around 850, and it sought to establish a standardized literary style for Rashtrakuta poets. In 877, an aging Amoghavarsha voluntarily abdicated the throne in favor of his son, Krishna II. He died the following year, and because he favored religion and the arts over warfare, he was posthumously nicknamed the "Ashoka of the South." Dawn of Man Salutations, Amoghavarsha Nrupathanga, the Ashoka of the south! In your reign of over sixty years, you definitively established yourself as the most illustrious ruler of the Rashtrakuta empire. Reigning over a vast swath of southern India, your empire wrested tribute from all of its surrounding states, and although you did not prefer to fight you were fearsome if tested. Your real glory, though, was in your religious patronage: you commissioned great arts, not just in your own Jain tradition but also in those of the Hindus and Buddhists. You even contributed to this tradition yourself! Your Kavirajamarga standardized the poetic stylings of your court, and it inaugurated the ancient tradition of Kannada literature. Amoghavarsha, your people clamor for the resplendence and cultural output of your empire. Can you establish an empire that rules with generosity and faith for all of its subjects? Can you build a civilization that will stand the test of time? Introduction: A pilgrim arrives! Well met, stranger. I am known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathanga, the emperor of the Rashtrakuta. Defeat: And so we are condemned to the annals of history. I urge you to at least remember us fondly. Unique Attributes Music Mod Support 'Additional Achievements' Events and Decisions Begin Commerce with the Mappila Foreign merchants have begun intermarrying with local women, creating an ethnically mixed generation that calls themselves the Mappila. With their links to foreign lands, the Mappila may be our means to get ahold of valuable imported goods. Let us encourage this trade! Requirements/Restrictions: * Player must be Rashtrakuta * Must have researched Optics * May only be enacted once per game Costs: * 200 Gold * 1 Magistrate Rewards: * Worked Horses generated Gold * Receive a source of Horses in each coastal city you control Collect Emergency Taxes The ravages of war have not been kind to us; our dwindling treasury is proof of that. Perhaps it is time to enact Sahadhyantara Siddhi, the emergency tax. This will allow us to squeeze some amount of wealth out of our uncultivated lands, and hopefully right the ship. Requirements/Restrictions: * Player must be Rashtrakuta * Must be at war * Must be losing Gold per turn * May only be enacted once per game Costs: * 200 Culture * 1 Magistrate Rewards: * Receive a sum of Gold for Forest and Jungle tiles in your control Unique Cultural Influence "Our people are now wearing your lungis and listening to your harikatha. I worry that the rest of the world will also succumb to the influence of your culture." Full Credits List * TopHatPaladin: Design, Code, Art, Text * grant: Basadi Graphics and Icon * Chrisy15: SQL Sorcery * danrell: UU Model * JFD, LastSword, Neirai, whoward69: Utilities * Sanjay Subrahmanyan: Peace Theme * M.S. Subbulakshmi: War Theme Category:All Civilizations Category:TopHatPaladin Category:Bharata Cultures Category:Civilizations with Male leaders Category:India Category:Civilizations with Unique Improvements